The NCAA News - News and Features

December 22, 1997

Wrestlers' deaths prompt review of weight-loss rules

The deaths of three student-athlete wrestlers at NCAA institutions during the past two months during weight-loss activities has prompted NCAA committees and the sport's national governing body to review the issue.

The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the NCAA Wrestling Committee, USA Wrestling and other concerned parties participated in a conference call December 16 to determine if changes in the rules and guidelines regarding weight loss are necessary.

Extensive changes were made in weigh-in rules after the Wrestling Committee's April 1996 annual meeting, following a series of meetings and conference calls with the competitive-safeguards committee.

The student-athletes -- Billy Saylor of Campbell University; Joe LaRossa of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse; and Jefferey Reese of the University of Michigan -- died between the dates of November 7 and December 9. Each collapsed after workouts. Medical personnel were not able to revive them.

Randall W. Dick, NCAA assistant director of sports sciences and a staff liaison to the competitive-safeguards committee, further explained the concern about weight-loss activity that results in excessive dehydration.

"While there is mixed scientific evidence regarding some concerns about the effects of the excessive dehydration that sometimes occurs with weight loss, in some cases there is significant scientific evidence," Dick said. "Even if there were other extenuating circumstances in these deaths, the point is that all of the individuals were in the mode of excessive dehydration, so either directly or indirectly, that contributed to their deaths."

Dick said that when the competitive-safeguards committee initiated the meetings about weight-loss safety, the concern was that in some cases the emphasis in the sport seemed to be on weight loss rather than performance. That concern continues, especially in light of these deaths.

Mike Moyer, chair of the Wrestling Committee and director of the Patriot Club at George Mason University, said that committee looks forward to working with the medical experts on the competitive-safeguards committee to make any changes necessary to maximize the safety of the sport, but emphasized caution.

"It is clear that three deaths in two months requires some sort of action, but we want to take the time to make sure it's the right action," Moyer said. "Until more information is gathered about what happened in these instances, it's difficult to do anything but raise awareness about our current rules and policies."

With that goal in mind, the chairs of the NCAA wrestling and competitive safeguards committees released a statement December 12 that emphasized that approach:

"The committees suggest that each institution reaffirm the current health, safety and emergency procedures on their respective campuses and use sound judgment in weight-loss activities to ensure the well-being of all student-athletes."

NCAA guidelines regarding excessive dehydration can be found in Guideline 2D of the 1997 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook and in Appendix B of the 1997 NCAA Wrestling Rules.